A. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an apparatus for removing dirt from the water of a washing machine and, more particularly, to an apparatus for purging water by removing dirt from the water when washing clothes or similar articles in a household or industrial washer.
B. Background Art
When clothes are washed in a washer, dirt from the clothes being washed is removed by a purging function or action. A conventional powder or gel or liquid detergent has such a purging function. Specifically, the purging function of a detergent is where molecules of the detergent surround a dirt particle to make the dirt particle xe2x80x9cdissolvexe2x80x9d in the water of the washer. A detergent or soap molecule may have a hydrophilic end (or polar ionic region) and a hydrophobic end (or nonpolar hydrocarbon region). Hydrophobic ends of many soap molecules cluster around each other and the hydrophilic ends face the water molecules where they are solvated by the water. Such a structure is called a micelle. A dirt particle, typically of organic material, is trapped or xe2x80x9cdissolvedxe2x80x9d in the hydrocarbon interior of the micelle such that the dirt particle is xe2x80x9cdissolvedxe2x80x9d in the water of the washer. The formation of micelles aids in removing or xe2x80x9cdissolvingxe2x80x9d dirt directly from the clothes and in xe2x80x9cdissolvingxe2x80x9d dirt in the water of the washer.
The dirt removed from the washed products flows with the water in the washer and is pumped from the washer at some time in the cycle, such as during the rinse cycle. This dirt that is removed includes dirt that is solvated by the detergent via micelles and dirt that has not been xe2x80x9ccapturedxe2x80x9d by a micelle.
A. Object of the Invention
Extremely dirty loads or even normal dirty loads are problematic for washers. For example, dirt that is first removed from the clothes at the beginning of the washing cycle may reattach itself to the clothes at a later point in the cycle. Further, the cleaning function of the cleaner decreases when too much dirt enters into the water in the washing cycle; in other words, there is relatively too much dirt and too little cleaner or detergent available to form an effective number or micelles to solvate the dirt particles.
When the clothes (or other products or articles) have too much dirt, the amount of detergent (i.e., soap or cleaner) may be increased. However, even when the amount of detergent is increased, the clothes at the end of the cycle may not be sufficiently clean. Further, this solution wastes detergent and may produce an excessive amount of waste water.
Another solution is the use of Binchou charcoal as a substitute for or in combination with detergent.
When Binchou charcoal is placed in water, dirt such as fine dirt or dirt particles is adsorbed onto the surface of the charcoal or is absorbed into the charcoal such that dirt is purged or removed from the water. When Binchou charcoal is placed into the water of a washer, the dirt in the water is removed such as by adsorption or absorption. Binchou charcoal may work side by side with detergent or may work alone without detergent.
Binchou charcoal is one kind of many charcoals that may be employed to work in a washer. These charcoals, including Binchou charcoal, undergo a special sintering process. This sintering process heats without melting the charcoal to xe2x80x9cweldxe2x80x9d powdered charcoal into a homogeneous mass so that powder does not come loose from the charcoal to color or blacken the clothes or water.
Charcoal such as Binchou charcoal may be produced in the form of a bar or in a powdered or pulverized form. When in the shape of a bar, the charcoal has little surface area for taking in dirt particles by either adsorption or absorption and hence such form does not produce a sufficient purging function. The powdered or pulverized (and sintered) charcoal has a greater surface area for a greater purging function, but it is difficult to separate the powdered or pulverized charcoal. from the washed clothes during the rinse cycle or during drying or after the clothes have been dried. Further, if the powdered or pulverized charcoal is used in combination with detergent, the detergent treats the charcoal particles as dirt particles such that the detergent action is wasted on the charcoal that competes with the dirt for the detergent.
In addition, since charcoal such as Binchou charcoal has a relatively great density and a density that is greater than water, it sinks to the bottom of the washer and out of the way of the dirt being removed from the clothes in the washer. Dirt, often in the form of fine particles in the washer, tends to float to the surface of the water in the washer.
Thus, objects of the present invention are to effectively utilize characteristics of inorganic materials that have purging functions such as adsorption or absorption of charcoal such as Binchou charcoal, to make the cleaning process inside of a washer more efficient, to decrease the amount of detergent used in a washer, and to decrease the amount of waste water to thereby decrease environmental pollution such as pollution of the rivers and waterways where detergents, even after treatment by municipalities, may cause harm.
B. Disclosure of the Invention
The present purging apparatus for removing dirt from a washing machine is placed directly into the water of a household or industrial washer and includes the following features. The purging apparatus includes a bag holding pieces of inorganic material. The bag is preferably made of a lipophilic fiber and is permeable to water. The pieces of inorganic material have a dirt purging function; such as a dirt adsorption or dirt absorption function. The bag further holds pieces of a lightweight material for adjusting the density of the bag when the bag is holding both the pieces of inorganic material and the pieces of lightweight material. (The pieces of lightweight material may be referred to herein as relative density adjusting pieces.) The pieces of inorganic material and lightweight material are mixed thoroughly with each other in the bag so as to produce a uniform dispersion of the pieces with each other in the bag. The amount and weight of the pieces of inorganic material may be relatively great or relatively small and the amount and weight of the pieces of lightweight material may be relatively great or relatively small. Preferably, the mass of the pieces of inorganic material and the mass of the pieces of lightweight material are selected such that the density of the purging apparatus (i.e. the bag, the pieces of inorganic material, and/or the pieces of lightweight material) is about 0.90 to about 0.93. It should be noted that the bag may be formed from a relatively lightweight material such that, in some cases, no pieces of lightweight material need be used to reach a preferred density such as the preferred range of about 0.90 to about 0.93.